


What's a tiny bump in the life of an immortal being?

by isabrutta



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Adoption, But mostly fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Clumsy Joe, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Mortality, Shirtless Nicky, Slice of Life, Temporary Character Death, also only mentioned, but like... in a non-angst kinda way, only mentioned - Freeform, set in the bologna hills, you know... cause TOG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26618074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabrutta/pseuds/isabrutta
Summary: After a tough mission that left them struggling to find peace, Joe and Nicky discover they're no longer immortal through very normal, every-day activities.But that's okay with them, because they have one-another.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 9
Kudos: 163





	What's a tiny bump in the life of an immortal being?

It’s a normal, chilly morning the day it happens. Or, well, as much normal as a morning can be in the life of an immortal being. But Joe has witnessed mornings full of war and hunger, blood and mayhem, so he guesses that waking up next to his thousand-years-old husband, with no near threat to either of them, can be considered “normal”.

Nicky is still sleeping when Joe gets up to make breakfast. He does it quietly, as to not wake him up, god only knows Nicolò has earned some rest.

They’ve been traveling through East Europe for the last three months, investigating and then successfully shutting off a human trafficking ring. Not the best three months of their lives, to say the least. Nicky wanted to have some peace and quiet after that, and Joe agreed, so that’s why they’re in one of their safe houses somewhere in the Bologna hills.

(Andy and Nile are still keeping busy, instead. They’re in London doing something concerning the environment, they didn’t give him too many details. They promised they’d contact them if their help was needed, but Joe isn’t sure they’ll actually do it if it were to come to it. They’re both too proud and too stubborn, and they’ve seen Nicky slowly losing faith in the world in the last mission, and that’s a rare sight. One that makes you wish peace for your friend. For your family.)

(Nicolò might not be a man of catholic faith anymore, but he still has faith in humanity. That’s something that still wonders Joe, and one of the many reasons why he loves the man so much his chest sometimes hurts with it. He just wishes for some rest now, for them both, to see Nicky’s eyes shine once more in front of the many little acts of joy that still can happen on this Earth.)

Joe’s still thinking about all of that when he opens the cupboard where they store the coffee. And maybe he’s still a little sleepy and a little too distracted, maybe he just turned his head too quickly when he heard Nicky get up and close the bathroom door. Maybe that’s why he knocks his head straight into the edge of the cupboard. 

Joe doesn’t even think about it when it happens. What’s a tiny bump in the life of an immortal who can regenerate without effort? It’s not until five minutes later, when he’s pouring the coffee he made in Nicolò’s favourite mug, that he feels it. 

It’s an actual bump. On his forehead. It’s a bump, and it should have disappeared immediately after appearing. He’s healed from much worse in much less time. It’s a bump, and when Joe touches it, it kind of stings. It’s a bump and when Joe goes to look at it in the nearest mirror, it’s a reddish-purple color, going on black. 

It’s a bump. And it doesn’t go away.

Joe doesn’t even have the time to freak out about it because the bump means so many things – and also, a tiny voice inside his head that sounds alarmingly like Nicky says that maybe it doesn’t mean what he thinks it means. So he does the best thing next to freaking out, which is going to show Nicky. 

He rushes up the stairs to the bathroom next to their bedroom, where he heard Nicky go before. In hindsight, he probably should have knocked, but that’s not exactly the first of Joe’s thoughts, _not when there’s a bump on his forehead_.

So he doesn’t knock, and he doesn’t open the door quietly either, opting for bursting it open instead, Nicolò all but jumping at the motion. Joe sees him, razor still in hand from where he was shaving in front of the mirror, and hears him curse in Italian under his breath. He sees how his hair is still wet from the quick shower he took before, he sees his naked chest and broad shoulders. He also sees the tiny nick he made with the razor when he jumped at the unexpected intrusion. 

Nicky doesn’t even think about it when it happens. What’s a tiny razor nick in the life of an immortal who can regenerate without effort? He’s thinking about Yusuf, wide-eyed and still at the bathroom door. He’s thinking about _where’s the danger who is it_ and _I should have a gun hidden in a drawer in here somewhere_. And then he’s thinking about the strange bump on Joe’s forehead, because that is a black bump and that should not be there, that should definitely be healed by now.

Joe doesn’t even know where to begin. How can he say to his husband, his soulmate, the love of his life, that he thinks – he doesn’t even know what he thinks.

And then he sees the tiniest drop of Nicky’s blood roll down his chin, where he cut himself. Joe all but runs towards Nicky, takes his husband’s face in his hands and pokes at the small cut. And Joe has had his share of shaving accidents throughout his infinite life, he knows the cut wouldn’t even have bled in normal conditions. Well – _their_ normal conditions. 

He takes Nicolò’s right hand and guides it, first to his own cut, then to the bump on his forehead. Nicky’s confused at first, but then his eyes widen, and that’s all it takes. 

So there they are, in a tiny bathroom in a safe house somewhere in the Bologna hills, staring at each other, eyes wide. In the back of his mind, Joe quite literally hears their world as they’ve known it for almost a millennium shutter. He hears their countless deaths and regenerations, he hears the noise of the countless wars they’ve fought. He hears the celebrations, the cries, all the music they’ve heard and forgotten. He hears their first kisses, an eternity ago. He hears all they ever did – together. Always together.

And so he doesn’t freak out, because they’re in this together. Life, death, and all that there’s in between. Always together.

It’s time for the new chapter of their life together. There’s so many things they couldn’t have done before mortality, Joe has a list in his mind because sometimes his demons like to make fun of him. But it truly is a new phase for them. And it doesn’t have to be scary, not if they choose it. 

So when Joe whispers, tears in his eyes, “Hey. We can adopt a baby now,” and sees Nicky’s smile grow slowly, he knows he’s said the right thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you enojoy it!  
> Bear in mind that english's not my first language so, yeah.  
> You can find me on twitter as @ventunopiloti or on tumblr as ode-to-the-revolution if you want!  
> Bye!


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